Apparently BMX bike riding can be dangerous

Often times, science is enlightening, a sublime part of life. Consider this week’s unveiling of the 4.4-million-year-old Ardipithecus ramidus fossils. Science is at its best when humans use their wits and tools to learn about nature.

And then there’s the time when science can be silly. A relatively new blog called NCBI ROFL does a fantastic job of bringing this to the fore by highlighting articles in PubMed, an extensive index of biomedical research articles, that are, in a word, funny.

Consider this article, for example, from the Medical Journal of Australia:

BMX handlebar. A threat to manhood?

Two cases of a severe scrotal injury–a new, hitherto unreported pattern of injury peculiar to BMX bicycle riding–are reported. Two such injuries occurring within a short period of time prompted us to suggest that scrotal protection, as well as a crash helmet and limb padding, should be made standard safety equipment for all BMX bicycle riders who engage in the sport of jumping.

The BMX bike is about as reverse progress as you can get. The effeciency of a bike does have some sensible rules such as using leg length for a full circular travel around the pedal axis and where the seat height is. Seeing some of the kids try to ride them because it is the fad is like watching a Disney Goofy cartoon. Riding a BMX is like driving a car that gets 4 gpm. I can almost see the giggling and laughing going on every time a shipment leaves taiwan. Same engineering, less materials, less shipping costs, same if not bigger cost